Federal Communications Commission

The Federal Communications Commission is the independent US agency responsible for regulating interstate and international communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable. It controls which devices can legally transmit on US radio frequencies, giving it effective veto power over market access for wireless hardware; it also holds the authority to approve or deny broadcast-licence transfers in merger transactions.

In the drone sector, the FCC added all foreign-manufactured drones and critical components to its Covered List on 22 December 2025 under Section 1709 of the FY25 NDAA, blocking DJI and Autel Robotics from certifying new US products. That listing was converted into a binding procurement rule when FAR clause 52.240-1 took effect on 13 March 2026. DJI is contesting the designation in the Ninth Circuit as Case 26-1029; Autel Robotics separately filed a Fifth Amendment due-process challenge in May 2026, arguing the listing rests on classified evidence it cannot rebut. The Pentagon filed a classified annex supporting the listing; courts generally defer to executive national security determinations, making the listings difficult to overturn judicially.

The FCC's broadcast-licence authority makes it the decisive gatekeeper for the $110 billion Paramount Skydance acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery. Following DOJ antitrust clearance on 12 June 2026, the deal entered formal FCC foreign-ownership review because the combined entity would carry a 49.5 per cent total foreign stake, nearly double the 25 per cent statutory ceiling for broadcast-licence holders. The foreign stake breaks down as 38.5 per cent from Gulf sovereign funds alone: Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund at 15.1 per cent, UAE sovereign wealth at 12.8 per cent, and Qatar Investment Authority at 10.6 per cent. Paramount has asked the FCC to authorise foreign equity of up to 100 per cent, four times the statutory ceiling. Senators Booker, Schiff, and Warren set FCC chair Brendan Carr a 1 July Deadline to notify Paramount the deal could not close until the foreign-investment review concluded; the Deadline passed without action, with Carr saying he is waiting on the interagency Team Telecom committee (Justice, Homeland Security, and Defense), which started a 120-day review clock. The review now runs alongside 12 US state attorneys general suing on 13 July to block the merger on antitrust grounds, and the EU's parallel process, whose Foreign Subsidies Regulation track cleared 14 July while its separate merger-control decision moved to 22 July.